This pompous-looking individual is Doc—the self-appointed leader of the group.
„
~ Walt Disney introducing Doc
Doc is the leader of the seven dwarfs and one of the deuteragonists in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. A pompous, pot-bellied fellow, Doc often bumbles and stammers, losing his way mid-sentence; however, he appears to hold complete authority over all the dwarfs except for Grumpy, who often objects to his decisions.
The snooty, pot-bellied self-proclaimed leader of the seven dwarfs, Doc often bumbles and stammers, losing his train of thought mid-sentence or mixing up letters and sounds saying things like, "search every crook and nanny" or "what are you and who are you doing?" Nonetheless, he appears to hold complete authority over all the dwarfs except for Grumpy, who often objects to his decisions. This drives an ongoing rivalry between the two opposing forces, though Grumpy usually follows Doc's lead, nonetheless, with most situations.
Doc encourages rational, organized behavior amongst the dwarfs and shows kindness towards Snow White. He is the most vocal in accommodating and comforting her, allowing her to sleep in their beds and warning her against inviting strangers into the house. This also ties into Doc's more fatherly nature, which can also be seen when dealing with the comedically childlike Dopey who, despite his incompetence, acts as Doc's right-hand-man; the head dwarf often acting as a caretaker of sorts, when with Dopey.
However, despite being the leader and the individual the other dwarfs look to for guidance, Doc is fairly weak under pressure, often falling into mild panic attacks or becoming too flustered himself to think of a decent course of action when a situation of high importance falls upon the dwarfs, as seen during the return to the cottage, moments before meeting Snow White, and most notably during the climax. Fortunately, in times of such distress, the other dwarfs would assist in rallying a cohesive suggestion, with Doc following along before eventually taking leadership, once again.
Appearances[]
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs[]
Doc is first introduced, with his six companions, at the Dwarfs' Mine. His job is to sort the diamonds that Grumpy, Bashful, Sneezy and Happy have unearthed. The diamonds that make a ringing sound were valuable and are placed in the bags with the other good diamonds, while the ones that make a clunking sound or are broken are worthless and are tossed aside to be swept up by Dopey. At one point, while seeing Doc study a diamond with a magnifier, Dopey puts 2 diamonds on his eyes (making it look like he had 18 of them), causing Doc to knock them off Dopey in disapproval. Just seconds after that, the alarm on a clock, which reminded the dwarfs that work was over, went off. Doc is the first to hear the alarm and alerts the other dwarfs that it is time for them to go home and he and Dopey put the diamonds he put on the sacks on the vault and Dopey locks it. He leads the dwarfs as they sing "Heigh-Ho".
When the seven dwarfs reach their cottage, Doc suddenly stops (causing the six other dwarfs to pile up behind him), noticing that light is coming from the house. The dwarfs think that a monster has taken up residence in their house. They sneak into the cottage; Doc, holding a candle, tells them to search everywhere.
At one point, Sleepy steps on a creaky floorboard, flustering Doc. The dwarfs note that the cottage has been cleaned. They decide that whatever is in the cottage is upstairs, and Doc declares that one of them must go upstairs to chase it out of the house. Dopey is elected, and Doc, his hand shaking, gives Dopey the candle. Dopey is so terrified upon entering the bedroom that, when he hears a noise coming from the beds, he screams and rushes downstairs. The dwarfs decide that they must get rid of this beast once and for all, and enter the bedroom, once again led by Doc. They are about to strike whatever is sleeping in their beds when they realize that it is the princess, Snow White. Grumpy begins to complain, and Doc attempts to silence him, but Snow White is woken up. She manages to match the name at the foot of each bed to the correct dwarf, identifying Doc first.
Doc attempts to express his delight, but is flustered, and gets into an argument with Grumpy, who wants Snow White to leave. Eventually, it is agreed that Snow White will clean and cook for the dwarfs if she is allowed to stay. She prepares soup for them but demands that they wash first. Doc attempts to say that they have recently washed, but, after examining each dwarf's hands, the princess sends them outside to a trough. Here, the dwarfs, led by Doc, wash, when Sneezy dips his finger in the water, he blubbers shocking Doc and the other dwarfs except for Grumpy, while singing "Bluddle-Uddle-Um-Dum (The Dwarfs' Washing Song)". Grumpy refuses to wash, but the other dwarfs, led by Doc, manage to drag him to the water and wash him thoroughly.
Later that evening, after supper, the seven dwarfs entertain Snow White with "The Silly Song", while Doc plays a stringed instrument shaped like a duck, in addition to dancing alongside Snow White. After they finish the song, the dwarfs listen to Snow White sing "Some Day My Prince Will Come", which sends every dwarf, except the stubborn Grumpy, into a dream-like state. Doc declares that Snow White will sleep in the bedroom upstairs, and the dwarfs must sleep downstairs. Doc sleeps in the sink.
The next morning, Doc is the first to leave and is seen off by Snow White, whom he warns to be wary of strangers. While the dwarfs head to the mine, the Queen, as the Witch, makes her way to the cottage, knowing that only Snow White will be at home. Upon her arrival at the cottage, the animals sense danger and, after attempting to drive her away, rush to the mine to fetch the dwarfs. When they discover that the Queen has found Snow White, the dwarfs rush home to find that the Witch has succeeded in poisoning the princess and is about to leave. The dwarfs chase the Witch into the mountains, and she reaches a cliff. She attempts to crush the dwarfs with a boulder, but a flash of lightning causes her to fall from the cliff and be crushed by the boulder herself.
The seven dwarfs mourn Snow White's death; Dopey is seen sobbing on Doc's shoulder. The dwarfs find her to be so beautiful, even in death, that they fashion a coffin from glass and place her inside. The Prince (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs)|The Prince]] arrives, and the dwarfs part so that he can approach Snow White. He kisses her, breaking the spell of the Sleeping Death, causing the dwarfs to cheer. Before Snow White leaves with the Prince, she kisses each dwarf on the forehead (Doc was third).
The Winged Scourge[]
In the 1943 educational short, Doc and the dwarfs are enlisted in helping rid their forest and cottage home of deadly mosquitoes that can spread the harmful disease malaria. Throughout the animated short, the dwarfs give examples of the precautions necessary to keep people safe from the spreading crises and ensure safety.
Whilst all of the other dwarfs were featured working alone in certain areas, Doc was notably seen leading the group, working alongside others such as Bashful, Sleepy, and Sneezy.
The 7D[]
In the animated series, Doc, like the classic character, serves as the apparent leader of the dwarfs and acts as the brains of the group. Here, Doc is an impressive inventor, capable of creating contraptions varying from giant machines to a customized hat with various useful abilities. His intelligence also makes him the biggest threat to the show's villains, Grim and Hildy Gloom.
Unlike the movie version, however, the 7D version of Doc doesn't constantly stumble on his words and speaks just fine. His rivalry with Grumpy is also nonexistent in this incarnation, mostly due to the fact that Happy's excessively joyous attitude is what annoys Grumpy the most.
Cameos[]
In Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Doc is seen in the last scene with many other cartoon characters and Disney characters. Like most of the cameos in the film, Doc plays a very minor, non-speaking role.
Doc makes a brief cameo in Flubber, appearing on Weebo the Robot's video monitor, which showcased a scene from the film.
Doc makes various non-speaking cameos in the animated series House of Mouse. In "Not So Goofy", Doc ordered a meal with no cholesterol. In "Pluto Saves the Day", Pete tries to convince Goofy to eat a poisoned apple by saying "An apple a day keeps the doc away", to which Goofy replies "But I like Doc!" while hugging Doc himself.
Doc appears in the final scene of The Lion King 1½, where he, the other dwarfs, and Snow White join Timon, Pumbaa and a crew of other Disney characters to watch the encore of the film.
In the Teacher's Pet movie, Doc and the other dwarfs briefly appear in the song "Ivan Krank"; when Dr. Ivan Krank says "he stands on the shoulders of giants", he is standing on the seven dwarfs.
In the animated series, Mickey Mouse, Doc made an appearance in the episode "Wish Upon a Coin". He and the other dwarfs are first seen depositing coins into a wishing well, which are soon stolen by Pete, causing Doc and the other dwarfs to fall into panic. Mickey Mouse heads after Pete and manages to retrieve the coins, settling Doc and the other dwarfs and fulfilling their wishes (which is revealed to be a wish to have a head of hair). During a brief scene, Doc was used by Mickey when the latter gave suggestions on what to do following the coin theft, including tripping over a dwarf and sitting on a dwarf.
Live-action appearances[]
Once Upon a Time[]
Doc is a member of the War Council and Personal Physician to Snow White who becomes a Doctor at Storybrooke Hospital. He helps Snow White give birth to Emma. When Greg Mendell literally crashes into Storybrooke, Leroy says Doc is not skilled enough to perform surgery. He is played by David Paul Grove.
Video games[]
Kingdom Hearts series[]
Doc appears along with the other dwarfs in the series, where their first appearance was in a glass podium with Snow White during the first game's Dive to the Heart. Unlike the Beast's servants, they are depicted as awake, meaning either their homeworld was not devoured by the Heartless, or that the Dwarfs were able to get to safety beforehand. Prior to the events of Kingdom Hearts, the dwarfs' appearances in Birth by Sleep reveals their lives working in the mines for jewels until the arrival of the Keyblade wielders in their world. The dwarfs encounter the first of these warriors, Ventus, and all show hostility towards the newcomer, with the exception of Dopey. After returning to their cottage, the dwarfs meet Snow White for the first time and take her in after she claimed she was attacked by Unversed. Unfortunately, Snow White falls into a deep slumber after taking a bite from the Queen's poisoned apple and the dwarfs place her in a glass coffin to mourn her. However, thanks to assistance from Aqua and the Prince, Snow White is able to awaken, and the dwarfs celebrate.
Doc also appears in Kingdom Hearts χ along with the others in Dwarf Woodlands.
Disney Princess: Enchanted Journey[]
Doc is a supporting character in Snow White's world. He meets the player after they've been introduced to a problem at hand, being the dwarfs' lack of cooperation as they worked in the mines. With Doc's guidance, however, things are able to move back into form eventually, but when a new problem arises, Doc informs the heroine that the problem is the missing color throughout the forest, as well as the stolen color of the rainbow. The dwarfs are able to help guide the heroine throughout the forest to retrieve and return all the missing color, bringing back peace yet again before her departure.